From left to right: Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman pose for a postfight portrait backstage during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on April 13. Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Kamaru Usman has no interest in move to middleweight while Adesanya is the champ
Kamaru Usman is fresh off his UFC 268 victory over Colby Covington. This is a huge win for the welterweight champion, however, it doesn’t stop people from asking about the possibility of dual champion status. Following the UFC 268 main event, Usman sat down with the media to discuss the fight and his future. He was asked if a run at 185 pounds could ever be in his future.
“As long as Israel is the champion then that is not really something that interests me,” Usman explained. “Unless Dana wants to give us one hundred million dollars. Then me and Israel have to have a serious talk like, ‘Hey, we want to do 50 a piece or what?’ Right now that doesn’t really interest me because I meant what I said, two Nigerians with belts is more important than one Nigerian with two belts.”
Both Usman and Adesanya are very proud of their lineage and of being African champions alongside Francis Ngannou. All three have been working towards getting a UFC event in Africa. It seems that while Adesaya’s reign in the middleweight division is going strong, Usman will stay put. This does however leave the door open if Adesanya were to fall. If another fighter were to find their way to the top of the division, they could have Usman to reckon with.
With both men winning their respective title defense in the past few weeks it doesn’t seem as if either belt will be changing hands for a while. Usman just had his 15th win in a row in the UFC and Adesanya defended his belt for the third time. Both men are at the top of the sport at this time and neither one wants to see the other lose. They are supportive of one another and have common goals in mind, to help their native home of Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
